This comes a week after it was announced elsewhere that the average broadband speed had reached a new high point of 4.659Mbps.
In the new survey almost a third (30%) of respondents were dissatisfied with their broadband speed in the 2010 survey, a worrying rise from 27% in 2009 and only 16% in 2008. A further 28% indicated they were planning to vote with their feet and change providers because their connection speed wasn’t up to scratch - a big increase from 2009 when only 17% were planning to switch because of dissatisfaction with actual vs. advertised connection speeds.
Interestingly, research showed that of the respondents that subscribed to superfast (24Mb+) packages, three quarters (76%) were happy with their connection speed, a significant improvement over the average. For some consumers, this may make the cost premium of superfast services worth the investment in the longer run. This will come as good news for BT with the launch on their 40Mb Infinity product and Virgin Media’s planned 100Mb rollout.
Michael Phillips, product director, at Broadbandchoices.co.uk commented, “The steady increase in speed dissatisfaction is indicative that consumers are taking advantage of access to online content that places more demand on their internet connection but as broadband providers advertise – and consumers subscribe to - ever faster services, their expectations are failing to be met. Service providers need to be careful since our research would show that many customers have had enough and are more willing to express that dissatisfaction by changing suppliers.”